City Tightens Restrictions on Street Solicitors

Drivers in Oak Forest might start to see fewer solicitors in the street, after Tuesday agreed to an updated ordinance requiring a more in-depth application process.

Under the updated ordinance, charitable or religious organizations are permitted to solicit twice in a calendar year, after providing the city with proof of 501c3 status and registering each solicitor.

Organizations must apply for the permit 30 days prior to the requested date, and City Clerk Scott Burkhardt will approve or deny the request. In the past, each proposed solicitation day was considered by the city council.

The move comes in response to concerns from aldermen, regarding the safety of both solicitors and drivers.

"It seems recently that every Saturday morning, I'm driving on 159th and Cicero, there's always someone at my car," Alderman Diane Wolf said.

Burkhardt said the revised ordinance will regulate the process for organizations seeking solicitation rights.

"This is a way of trying to take the best of the best situation," Burkhardt said. "This is a defined, clear roadmap in terms of what groups can do and how they do it.

"This is to amalgamate this whole thing to make it more clearly defined."